Socioeconomic Status

Many low income areas have dental therapists as part of their local dental team. Many people in these areas have never been to a dentist or do not go every six months as recommended this poses many other health problems. There has been case studies and data showing that in these areas dental health

In the second article, "Where are all the dentists?", also by Kristin Lewis, it tells about why good dental care is important just like the first article talked about. The author talks about how it's important to have dental care especially for kids, because they will most likely to end up with cavity. Lewis states "what's more, one in seven kids between the ages of 12 and 19 have at least one untreated cavity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" (Lewis 17). This is saying without good access to dental care many teens get cavities and do not get them treated at all. In conclusion, both of these articles states why dental care and taking care of your teeth is very important for your

The article “History Of Teeth” and the informational text “Where Are All The Dentists” by Kristian Lewis, talks about how access to good dental care is important. One example to show people need access to good dental care is George Washington, he had fake teeth. The article states “George Washington had only one tooth left by time he became president-a fact that bothered him greatly” (Lewis 13). This shows why people need access to good dental care because, George Washington disliked that fact that he was missing so many teeth, if someone is missing that many teeth then, their gums would hurt as well as it would be hard to eat. Another example is kids often get cavities that are untreated. The informational text states “What's more, one in

This proves that the lack of dental insurance within these low-income households plays a key role in whether or not these children will receive dental care. When these children do not visit the dentist, they increase their chances of developing dental caries significantly. The British Dental Journal disclosed that, “Sugars consumption varies by social class. National food surveys reveal a higher consumption of sugar and sugar-containing foods and drinks amongst low income groups”(Watt 8). Healthy food is expensive; therefore lower class families resort to unhealthy food because it is significantly cheaper. This extensive consumption of sugar-ridden foods is extremely detrimental to the enamel. The British Dental Journal also declared that “oral inequalities will only be reduced through the implementation of effective and appropriate oral health promotion policy”(Watt 6). The dental program will make the inequalities in dental care known and work to reduce those inequalities. Dental health is often times overseen because it is typically expensive and people are unaware of how the condition of their teeth affects the condition of the rest of their body. The all-inclusive dental health program will give people the treatment they need, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

The socioeconomic background of people is a major factor that dictates whether or not they will receive dental care. According to the American Journal of Public Health, “Children from a low socioeconomic status have been shown to have a high risk of dental caries”(Simmer-Beck 1764). Many children today do not receive the dental care they need because of their parents’ income. Going to the dentist is expensive for people without dental insurance so many people tend to blow it off; but what they don’t realize is that the condition of their mouth often dictates the state of the rest of their health. An internet source in correspondence with the American Journal of Public Health stated that, “More than half of low income-children without

accept Medicaid and this might result in higher utilization in particular wards over others. We did not have information about parental marital status and other private insurance, which could be used for dental services and not reflect in Medicaid billing data. Also, there could be a potential bias due to delayed reporting of the data which might not be included in the dataset when we received it. Also, Centre for Medicaid Services (CMS) uses the information from these datasets and presents it by financial year whereas this analysis was done by calendar year, which may not match with the generally available information. Also, the composition of Medicaid population might not be a true representation of over-all population. People having private dental insurance might have a different utilization pattern for assigned dental home and preventive dental services. We also feel that the information of ward might not be an accurate representation of utilization since people may seek services from a provider in different wards than the one in which they reside. Having data about unique providers, along with unique patient might make a robust database to get more accurate information. Last but not the least, we restricted our definition preventive dental services to a combination of examination and fluoride application, which is not the same as followed by

Health care has been an issue for the United States of America for multiple years. Dental care, a topic that does not get much attention because people believe it is trivial, plays a major part in people’s lives, particularly children. Gerard van Honthorst’s The Tooth Puller shows a dentist pulling a patient’s tooth with five observers watching. Van Honthorst shows how in awe or scared people are of the dentist. There is a negative outlook on dentists and dental care: people are afraid of the dentist giving them their negative connotation, while dental care only causes pain in many people eyes. There is a problem in the health care system and improvement in the system is needed because health care is a right for every citizen, especially dental care. The United States of America’s government should allow dental therapist to conduct the procedure that normal dentist conduct for free for children under the age of twelve. The government should fund the teaching, training, and employment of dental therapists to care for underserved people.

Oral health has a direct impact on the general health, hence, it is important that all Canadians have adequate access to dental care services. Over the years successive Governments have reduced financial support to programs delivering dental care to most vulnerable populations. As a result, many low income families and other vulnerable groups have been unable to access dental care. There is further escalation in the disparities in oral health care among Canadians, as the number of Canadians losing dental care benefits continues to increase. Also, higher oral health care costs can be expected in the near future due to shortage of health care professionals.

The first health disparity I would like to discuss is Oral health interventions among Hispanics, especially among Hispanic children. An article, “Community-based oral health self-care intervention for Hispanic families”, By Hull and other authors, focuses on monitories who are at high risk for poor oral health have dental caries, oral disease and not having much access to dental care based on their socioeconomic status Hull, 2013).

Dental insurance coverage is a key determinant on whether to seek care or not. The exclusion of our mouths from the rest of our body parts and not receiving the care it requires is quite impossible to rationalize (McClymont, 2015). Dental care is essential in the maintenance of good oral health and in the identification of symptoms of systemic conditions that most likely are manifested through the mouth. As striking and conspicuous as it may sound, Canada has indeed a type of health care system wherein mouth is excepted as a part of the body. As a matter of fact, our lips, tongues, and throats are securely covered while our teeth and gums are left out from the privilege. The most common infectious disease in the world are dental diseases, and the fact that many health issues can be first diagnosed through the oral cavity validates its importance and co-relevance to the rest of our body. Studies have linked poor oral health such as severity of gum infection to AIDS, first stages of osteoporosis, reveal nutritional deficiencies, immune disorders, cancer, and so on and so forth. Xerostomia or dry mouth for an instance is often a symptom of undetected diabetes. Diabetic patients have higher risks of gum infection caused by increased blood sugar, thickening of blood vessels resulting to hindered healing process that is why they are obligated to undergo pre-medication as a form

(2015) and Dodd et al. (2014), Decker & Lipton (2015) have utilized data qualitatively, which verily served the purpose of gaining rich information on the perceptions of the respondents on dental care and health. This is also important to consider, especially since most of the studies are done quantitatively. Although both qualitative and quantitative studies are good on their own, both also have considerable weaknesses. It would be interesting as well to see more researches done in mixed method in order to fill in the weaknesses of these two. It will be also good to note if the study by Decker & Lipton (2015) can be replicated in different sample—such as other minority groups or a more heterogeneous sample. In this way, the scholar literature can be expanded by our knowledge about dental health that is growing to be a public health issue in United States and in other parts of the world. Given the qualitative data gathered by Decker & Lipton (2015), it will be helpful if better public policies are made to cater to these sensitive populations. This is also true in the suggestion of Dodd et al. (2014) on the widening of the Medicaid coverage among adults—and on the reconsideration not to deflouridate the water supply in New York in the study by Edelstein et al. (2015). As mentioned by Edelstein et al. (2015), removing the fluoride content in the New York water supply could only worsen the rates of early childhood carries. In the long run,

Many people feel that dental care coverage in health insurance and visiting the dentist regularly are not essential. However, poor oral hygiene is linked to diseases such as diabetes and heart problem. Moreover, researches has shown that oral diseases have a great link to ear and sinus infections, weakened immune systems, and other health conditions (Scully, 2000). Untreated dental conditions have the potential to affect children’s speech, social development, and quality of life. However, it is known that greater utilization of health services associated with increasing insurance coverage, thus directly increase medical costs (Finkelstein et al., 2012; Newhouse, 1996). In fact, insurance coverage can indirectly reduce total health costs. As one type of healthcare service or preventive treatment may lead to decreases the use of other covered services. For example, yearly visit to the dental office for general checkup may prevent the future need for emergency dental care due to undiagnosed or untreated dental cavity (Hsu et al., 2006; Kaestner, 2012; Shang & Goldman, 2007).

Lack of access to dental health services and providers also affects utilization rates within the adult Medicaid population (Licata & Paradise, 2012; Davis., Deinard &, Maïga, 2010; MacDougall, 2016; Hinton & Paradise 2016; PEW Center on the

While the private sector provides excellent quality of oral health care for its patients, many vulnerable groups have difficulty with access.2 It is also these vulnerable groups who demonstrate extremely high levels of oral health disease. According to a 2014 report issued by the Canadian Academy of Health Services (CAHS), the following represent Canada’s most vulnerable groups: individuals with low incomes; younger age children living in low-income families; individuals working without dental insurance; elderly populations with low incomes and/or living in institutions; aboriginal people, immigrants/refugees; people with disabilities; and, populations living in rural/remote communities.2 The CAHS authors report that increasingly and in light of challenging economic times, families from lower-middle income strata are also demonstrating difficulty with accessing oral health care (this is partially attributable to an increasing tendency toward part-time employment rather than full-time employment with benefits).

The purpose of this paper is to describe the risk of transmitting caries-inducing bacteria from mother to child and to educate teen mothers about preventing such bacterial transfer.  Dental caries are not often thought of as a contagious disease, but it can be.  Many common parenting behaviors can contribute to the transfer of oral bacteria to the child.  Teen mothers may be unaware of or uneducated about risky behaviors and caries prevention.  Educating teen mothers about how to prevent bacterial transfer may reduce the incidence of childhood caries in the community.